Traffic signal



Jan. 17, 1939.

F. c. PFEIL I 2,143,899

TRAFFIC S IGNAL Filed Nov. .25, 1936 Pin ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a trafiic signal for use on automobiles and similar vehicles for the purpose of enabling the driver to inform persons along the highway the direction in which he intends to proceed and thus avoid possible accidents.

It is one of the purposes of this invention to provide a signal of this character which will effectively indicate the direction which the automobile will take relative to persons in front, in rear and at the side of the path of the car both in day time and also during night driving.

A further object of this invention is to provide the signal with means whereby the condition of the road in rear of the road may be readily observed and thus aid in avoiding injury to the cars.

Moreover, this invention contemplates simplification of the construction of the signal, reduction in cost and easy replacement of any of its parts which may become broken.

In the accompanying drawing:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form of traflic signal embodying my improvements, viewed from the rear and outer sides thereof.

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken from the front and outer sides of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section thereof, taken on line 3--3, Fig. 1. v

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, taken on line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, taken on the correspondingly numbered line in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing one of the wedge shaped clamping members for holding the indicating panes and the rear view mirror in place on the front, rear and side walls of the housing.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view showing a slightly modified form of the means for mounting the housing on a hinge of the car, as compared with the construction shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

A trafiic signal of the character forming the subject of this invention may be mounted on one or both sides of the body of a car and on any suitable part thereof, that shown in the drawing, for example, being mounted on one of the hinges Ill of the front left door of the car so that the signal is visible on the corresponding side of the car. The signal comprises a housing or casing which is arranged transversely at one side of the car body and tapers from its outer side, toward its inner side and is provided with a horizontal bottom wall H and a horizontal top wall I2 which taper inwardly, a vertical front wall l3 connecting the front edges of the bottom and top walls, a vertical rear wall [4 connecting the rear edges of the bottom and top walls, said front and rear walls converging inwardly, an outer vertical Wall 55 connecting the outer edges of the bottom, top, front and rear walls, and a vertical inner wall l6 engaging the inner edges of the bottom, top, front and rear walls, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A wedge shaped housing is thus formed which is narrow at its inner end and wide at its outer end, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

The several walls of the housing are preferably constructed of sheet metal and bottom, top, front, rear and outer walls are permanently connected so that the same are integral but the inner wall is made separate and removable from the other walls so as to permit of conveniently opening and closing the inner end of the housing for the purpose of rendering the interior of the housing accessible from this side thereof for introducing parts into the housing or removing the same therefrom when assembling the signal or making repairs, as well as inspecting and cleaning the interior of the housing.

For this purpose the inner wall i6 is more detachable and this may be accomplished by providing the inner wall at its upper and lower ends with horizontal lips or lugs ll, [8 and are removably secured to the upper and lower sides of the top and bottom walls by means of bolts l9, 2|], as shown in Figs. l-5, or by other suitable means. On its opposite vertical edges the inner wall I6 is provided with upright flanges 9 which engage with the inner parts of the front and rear sides of the front and rear walls, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

On its lower inner corner the housing is mounted on a supporting bracket having an arm 2| which is provided with a vertical flange 22 secure-d by a bolt 23 to the inner wall of the housing and a horizontal flange 24 which is secured to the adjacent parts of the lip l5 and the bottom wall by the bolts 2 The arm of the supporting bracket may be provided with a depending pin 25 which serves as the pintle of the respective hinge l5 forming part of the means whereby the left front door of the car is pivotally connected with the adjacent part of the car body, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. This pintle may be secured to the arm 2| of the supporting bracket in any suitable manner, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, by providing the pintle at its upper end with a threaded shank 9 which engages with a vertical threaded opening ID in the arm 2| and applying a nut 25! to this shank through an opening 252 which extends horizontally from the exterior of the arm to the threaded opening I0. These means for mounting the housing on the car permit the nut to be tightened by inserting through the opening 252 a suitable wrench for holding the bracket in place and still conceal the nut so as to present a neat and finished appearance.

If desired the housing may be mounted on a hinge ID of the car by means of upper and lower arms 26, 21 which project inwardly from the inner housing wall and the upper arm 26 engaging the upper side of the respective hinge and receiving the pintle thereof while the lower arm 27 engaging with the lower side of this hinge and having a clamping screw 29 engaging with the lower end of this pintle, as shown in Fig. 7.

The outer wall I 5 of the housing is provided with a window or opening 29 which is covered by a pane 30 engaging with the inner side of this outer wall and extending across the window opening therein. The front wall I3 of the housing is provided with a window or opening 3| which is covered by a pane 32 engaging with the interior of the front wall and extending across the opening therein and also engaging its outer end with the interior surface of the front edge of the pane 38, as shown in Fig. 5. The rear wall M of the housing is provided in its outer part with a window opening 33 and in its inner part with a mirror opening 34. The outer window opening 33 is covered by a pane 35 which engages the interior of the adjacent part of the rear wall and extends across the window opening 33 and also engages its outer end with the interior surface of the rear edge of the .pane 30, as shown in Fig. 5. The outer pane 30 is thus held in place against the interior of the outer housing wall by the front and rear panes 32 and 35 without employing any further retaining means for this purpose. The inner opening 34 of the rear housing wall is covered by a mirror 36 which engages with the interior surface of the rear wall and extends across this mirror opening and also engages its outer edge with the interior surface of the rear pane 35 while its inner edge engages with the interior surface of the inner wall l6, as shown in Fig. 5, thereby retaining the rear pane 35 in place. The panes 30, 32 and 35 may be constructed of transparent or translucent glass or similar material so that when the interior of the housing is illuminated the same will serve as a signal which is visible from the front, rear and outer sides of the housing and thus indicate to the trai'fic along the highway what course the driver of the car intends to pursue.

Any suitable indicia may be placed on the panes to further indicate the intention of the driver when operating the signal, such, for example, as the word Turn on the side and rear panes and the words Left turn please together with representation of an arrow on the front pane, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The mirror may be of any suitable construction, such for example, as a plate of glass having a silver coating on its inner side. This mirror enables the driver to observe the condition of traffic on the road in rear of the car and govern himself accordingly. Holding means are provided whereby the front and rear panes and the rear view mirror are securely held in place in accordance with the present invention and permit of readily and conveniently replacing a pane or mirror which may become broken, which holding means are preferably constructed as follows:- Within the upper and lower part of the housing are arranged wedge members which are detachably and adjustably connected with the top and bottom walls of the housing and adapted to engage with the inner sides of the upper and lower edge portions of the front and rear panes and the mirror and press the same forwardly and rearwardly against the front and rear walls of the housing so as to rigidly connect the same. Each of these wedge members consists of a horizontal longitudinal wedge plate 31 which tapers from its wide outer end inwardly toward its narrow inner end and two upright flanges 38 arranged on the longitudinal edges of the respective wedge plate and converging inwardly. The plates of these wedge members engage respectively with the underside of the top wall and upper side of the bottom wall of the housing and their flanges engage, respectively with the inner sides of the inwardly converging front pane and the rear pane and mirror at the upper and lower edges of the same. By moving these wedge members inwardly the same exert a wedging action on the front and rear panes and the mirror whereby the same are firmly clamped against the front and rear housing wall and prevented from becoming loose and rattling while the car carrying the signal is in operation. The wedge members may be held in place on the housing by any suitable means but preferably by outer bolts 39 passing through the outer parts of the top and bottom housing walls and through longitudinal slots 49 in the corresponding parts of the wedge plates and also by passing through longitudinal slots M formed respectively in the inner parts of the wedge plates, two of the bolts I9, 23 whereby the lips l1, I8 of the inner wall and the horizontal flange 24 of the supporting bracket are secured to the inner parts of the top and bottom walls of the housing being shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

For the purpose of producing weather-tight joints between the housing and the pane and mirror, packings 42, consisting preferably of strips of rubber or the like, are interposed between the edges of the panes and the mirror and the adjacent parts of the housing, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, thereby effectively excluding rain and snow from the interior of the housing and maintaining the same in operative condition.

Various means may be employed for illuminating the interior of the housing when it is desired I to give a traffic signal but it is preferable to employ for this purpose an incandescent electric lamp 43 which is arranged within the housing and mounted on the upright portion 4 3 of a tubular bracket which latter has a horizontal portion 45 passing at its inner end, through the inner wall l6 of the housing and connected therewith. This connection in its most approved form consists of a flange 46 arranged on the inner end of the tubular bracket portion 45 and secured by brazing or otherwise in a depressed seat 41 on the outer side of the lower part of the inner wall l6, as shown in Fig. 4. The wires 48 for conducting the electric current to the lamp are carried from the exterior of the housing through the tubular bracket to the lamp and the current derived from any available source may be turned on and off by a switch of any suitable or well known construction placed on the car within convenient reach of the driver.

As a Whole this signal is very attractive in appearance and can be readily applied to the various types of automobiles now in common use without requiring any alteration for installing the same.

Furthermore, all of its parts are of simple construction and not liable to get out of order and in case of accidental breakage any of its parts can be readily replaced at low cost.

By making the signal housing and associated parts generally of inwardly tapering form the outer pane may be made of comparatively large area and present an effective signalling surface and yet render the signal as a whole small, compact and light so that the same is not liable to be injured by vibration while the car is in use.

I claim as my invention:

1. A signal comprising a housing having upper and lower walls, and front and rear side walls, which converge horizontally and each of which is provided with a window opening, upright panes engaging with the inner sides of said front and rear walls and extending across the openings therein, horizontally movable wedge shaped plates engaging with the inner sides of the panes at the upper and lower edges thereof, means for fixing said wedge shaped plates to the upper and lower walls and permitting them to be moved toward and from the front and rear walls, and a lamp arranged within the housing.

2. A signal comprising a housing having front and rear walls which converge horizontally and each of which is provided with a window opening, panes engaging with the inner sides of said front and rear walls and extending across the openings therein, wedge shaped plates having converging flanges engaging with the inner sides of the panes at the upper and lower edges thereof and also provided with longitudinal slots, bolts for fastening said wedges to said top and bottom walls and passing through the slots of said plates, and a lamp arranged within said housing.

FRED C. PFEIL. 

